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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Steve Herman
Tokyo
12 January 2006
Experts at an international conference on avian influenza1 are being told their governments must do more to ensure early detection of the virus if a global human pandemic is to be contained. The warning has been given added urgency by confirmation2 this week of human bird flu deaths in Turkey, the first from the H5N1 virus to occur outside East Asia.
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Some 130 delegates from 21 countries and organizations meeting here heard that the 17 days it takes on average for bird flu cases to be confirmed is too long to ensure containment3 of the disease.
Members of the World Health Organization's bird flu task force told the experts that early detection of widespread bird deaths, especially in rural areas, is the key to limiting a human pandemic.
The warnings came at the start of a two-day meeting on how to contain a pandemic should the H5N1 virus mutate into a form that can pass easily between humans.
Hitoshi Oshitani
Hitoshi Oshitani, a regional adviser4 to WHO on communicable disease surveillance and response, told reporters that rapid-response plans are needed.
"At the moment, most of the countries do not include such a plan in their fundamental preparedness plans. We discussed this issue this afternoon, and some countries raised this issue, and they are keen to include such a plan in their pandemic preparedness plans," he said.
Dr. Keiji Fukuda
Dr. Keiji Fukuda, of the WHO's Global Influenza Program in Geneva, says another human viral pandemic, like those that struck in the early and middle years of the last century, is inevitable5 even if it does not result from the H5 strains of avian influenza.
"We expect that a pandemic will occur sometime in the future. It may be from H5, it may be from another virus. So all of these activities to prepare are not just for H5, they are really to prepare for the possibility of any virus causing a pandemic," he added.
In East Asia, at least 76 people have died from the virus since 2003. Three deaths have been confirmed in Turkey.
The WHO bird flu experts say more must be done to convince rural populations of the risk of close contact with poultry6. Many farmers are hesitant to alert officials about sick birds because they are not compensated7 if their poultry is ordered destroyed. The experts said farmers must realize that if their birds become sick, they should not think of immediately killing8 and eating them.
Many people in Southeast Asia raise chickens in or near their homes. Noting that fact, Thailand's deputy health secretary, Narongsakdi Aungkasuvapala, said that the most important challenge facing his country is improving ways to detect the disease.
More funding to combat the threat is expected to be pledged next week at a meeting of donors9 in Beijing.
1 influenza | |
n.流行性感冒,流感 | |
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2 confirmation | |
n.证实,确认,批准 | |
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3 containment | |
n.阻止,遏制;容量 | |
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4 adviser | |
n.劝告者,顾问 | |
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5 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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6 poultry | |
n.家禽,禽肉 | |
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7 compensated | |
补偿,报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 ); 给(某人)赔偿(或赔款) | |
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8 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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9 donors | |
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 );献血者;捐血者;器官捐献者 | |
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